Hot shots, part deux

headchef — Sat, 12 May 2012 08:37:27 +0000

The hipster coffee maker in the previous post really divided opinion, but it’s a nicely made film and it, plus the Guardian article and associated comments, really got me thinking about coffee. I love coffee, but I’m not a snob about it. I make drip coffee at home with pre-packed ground red label Lavazza in a cup-top filter cone (it takes 1×2 size filters) and my favourite regular coffee shop is Ravellos on Dean Bradley Street in Westminster. They can make a black Americano that is so smooth you’d swear it had cream in it. I’ve dabbled with Dark Fluid coffee from Brockley Market and the With Jam & Bread Café but I’m not totally convinced yet.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the comments on the Guardian article on coffee, but a few useful common themes seem to emerge:

There’s not much point having an espresso machine at home. Making espresso well is indeed an art and you really do need to spend silly money for a good machine. If you love espresso, find a shop that makes it well and frequent it.
Finding a coffee shop in Britain that really makes good espresso is still surprisingly hard.
If you want to make coffee at home, make drip coffee in a cone, caffetiere or consider an Aeropress or similar (I’ve not checked the price of one of those mind) – or if you want something more like espresso, try a stove-top Bialetti Moka pot.
If you have a Moka pot, the first few cups will taste disgusting, you must never clean/scrub it with soap (rinse it with water) and cheaper Lavazza works better than expensive Illy.

Coffee porn

headchef — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:45:19 +0000

Ok, not exactly food, but I do like a nice cup of black coffee, and this is mesmerising:

via http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/may/09/how-to-make-the-perfect-espresso

suppertime! » coffee

Hot shots, part deux

Coffee porn